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Corretja defends his Davis Cup selection

11/20/12 3:54 PM | Johan LindahlSpanish captain Alex Corretja has swallowed the disappointment of the Davis Cup finals loss to the Czech Republic, with the skipper insisting that he's make the same team selection again.

As predicted by Tomas Berdych before the Prague tie, No. 11 Spaniard Nicolas Almagro proved to be the weak link, losing both of his singles ties.

His concluding loss against Radek Stepanek in five sets was enough to send the Czechs onto an historic victory.

Corretja made no apologies while saying that he expects to have top Spanish players Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer available to 2013 play in the worldwide team competition.

"As captain I try to cope with the situation as best I can and in the end we fought as hard as we could to win a final that eluded us by a tiny, tiny margin," he told Spanish radio Cadena Ser. "If we played Czech Republic again tomorrow I would choose the same four players."

Bad blood was said to have been averted after hard-courter Feliciano Lopez was left off the side in favour of clay-based Almagro, who lost his way on the fast surface laid down by the hosts. Lopez, wearing librarian glasses, sat with the support team during the entire weekend.

"I don't think I made a mistake and I don't think we lost the tie because Nico Almagro played," said the captain. "Having seen the way Almagro played on Friday (loss to Berdych) I still believe that he was the right person to play the final rubber. Who knows if a different player would have been any better? Nobody.

"I am a fan of Feliciano Lopez in the sense that he has given a huge amount to the Davis Cup team."

Lopez remains puzzled by his exclusion. "Alex is there to take these kinds of decisions, they are not easy and you have to respect them. But on a technical level I don't understand it," he added. "I thought I was going to play because this surface suits me very well."

Spain had been bidding for a fifth title in six years of Davis Cup play. The Czechs won their first as a new nation only two decades old. "Obviously when Rafa recovers from his (knee) injury and he's available I'll be delighted," Corretja said.

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Comments

you lose some and you win some. captain is doing his job supporting his player in front of the media. only good for tennis that czechs won.

croc, 11/21/12 6:48 PM

We may not have seen the best tennis but it was still an enthralling DC final.

#BumpingSpamThreadsOff

ed251137, 11/22/12 4:46 PM

Corretja clearly took the wrong decision for this tie. Period.
Whether it was a good decision for the long term i.e. building team morale, equipping Nico to improve as a DC player.........we don't know.

holdserve, 11/23/12 4:47 PM

What was telling was the attitude of the rest of the Spanish team after Nico's defeat: None, with the exception of Corretja himself, made an effort to come down court-side to console Nico. They all, including his best buddy Ferrero, stood there stony faced. They basically left Nico to stew in his own ignominy. That's not how tight teams behave.

If Nico recovers from that experience and improves he will be a better man than I give him credit for. For the Aramada's sake, I hope he proves me wrong and becomes a formidable DC player.

rafaisthebest, 11/23/12 5:04 PM

With hindsight it is clear the rest of the team were not happy about the selection of Nico over Feli. But for all we know there could be a back story of animosity between Corretja and Feli, or between Almagro and Feli, or Almagro and the rest of the team, or between Corretja and the whole team.

Whatever, the the stony faces spoke volumes. As did the cold shouldering of Almago after the match.

But to hold Almagro responsible for failing to lift the cup is too harsh.

I'm reserving judgement on Corretja. Time wll tell.

ed251137, 11/23/12 5:32 PM

I don't think there is animosity amongst the players or even towards the captain. I think there was a professional difference. Also, Corretja made a pre-tournament statement after inspecting the court that the surface was perfect for Feli. So, my sense is that Feli and the rest of the team believed Corretja was going to pick Feli.

Corretja may not be responsible for the outcome of the tourney but what is clear is that he failed to hold his team together..........

rafaisthebest, 11/23/12 5:57 PM

obviously he made the right move

this isn't even a discussion

RickyDimon, 11/23/12 10:17 PM

^^^
If it isn't, why are you in it?

rafaisthebest, 11/24/12 4:48 AM

RITB: Just one of Ricky's little put-downs.............................which are usually reserved for me ;-(

ed251137, 11/24/12 5:36 AM

RITB - i'm NOT in it. that's the point.

I told everyone what the answer is. That's the exact opposite of discussing!

RickyDimon, 11/24/12 5:41 AM

RITB, he can't seem to help himself (although in this case he's right).

Former No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero will coach fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro on a part-time basis next season. Ferrero, who retired after losing to Almagro in Valencia in late October, reportedly told the media during the Davis Cup final that he does not want to travel full-time, but that he will join Almagro at the tournament in Acapulco at the end of February.